FHRAI to set up hotel mgmt institute in city

Lapping up the proposal from West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to set up a hotel management institute here, the Federation of Hotel & Restaurants Association of India (FHRAI), the apex body of hotels and restaurants, is going full steam with the project.

The proposed institute, to be set up in the line of the existing one at Greater Noida, will be built with an investment of Rs 15-20 crore.

"Fortunately we have a model to follow," said Dinesh Khanna, newly-elected president of the association.

Two days back, the chief minister urged the association during its 43rd annual conference to set up a hotel management institute in Kolkata.

"He has shown a very proactive stance and we will meet the chief minister with our proposal after getting approval from our members," Khanna said.

The Greater Noida facility, built with an investment of Rs 20 crore, plans to increase the number of students from 200 to 1000. The FHRAI also plans to open two more institutes in western and southern regions of the country.

Rajesh Mishra, past-president of the organisation, said: "The chief minister has also assured us to consider the tax related issues. Since, we have the status of an industry, we have asked him to bring down the power tariff at par with the rates applicable for other segments of industry."

Khanna said: "We have to concentrate more on making liaison with the government to facilitate more star hotels in the country. Business traffic is on the rise, a number of non-metro airports are also coming up. So, demand for the budget and no-frills category hotels is also increasing."